


Even Queen's Get Lonely

by LifeInWentworth



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-05
Updated: 2014-04-18
Packaged: 2018-01-11 06:44:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1169915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LifeInWentworth/pseuds/LifeInWentworth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So this is sort of an alternative world but not...kind of thing. Basically, Henry doesn't exist but Emma ends up in Storybrooke anyway and a lonely Regina decides to take advantage of her after she's in a car accident and can't remember anything. A twisted look at how desperate Regina is for attention and love in the cursed town that she created out of vengeance. Multi-chapter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Way To Fill The Space

Regina sighed as she waved a hand, turning the television off. So many years in this world and she still didn’t get TV, it just didn’t entertain her. She’d much rather read a book or write. In fact, sometimes she just liked to sit and think. Sometimes she hated it. Lately, it had been the latter. For twenty-eight years, she had tried to cover up her loneliness. For a while it had worked, it was easy to sit back and laugh as the rest of the town wandered around, oblivious to their lives. The mayor’s job gave her the authority she liked, and exercising that power over Storybrooke, making the residents as miserable but as peaceful as she wanted.

This night, she was tired though. The loneliness that had been threatening to overcome her for so long, was beginning to brim out. After all, she didn’t have any friends, just pawns in a game, really. She had killed the only man that she loved; her father. She never regretted it exactly, or never let herself regret it anyway, but there was an ache that she sometimes acknowledged, for another person to share this life with. So this night, she decided to go on a walk. It was late, there wouldn’t be many townsfolk about and so she put on her coat and wrapped a scarf tightly around her neck and headed out the front door.

The mayor looked up at the clock which had never ticked a second since it’s creation in this town. She smiled to herself and continued on, digging her hands deep in her pockets as the a few snowflakes began to fall. She liked the cold, it felt good to her skin and deep in her bones. She liked rugging up with her favourite scarf. She was almost to the town line, the road leading out of Storybrooke, and closed her eyes, breathing in the smell of the first snow of winter and didn’t it feel fresh and clean in her lungs.  
Regina’s eyes snapped open as she heard a skidding along the misty road and a small, yellow car screeched to a stop inches from ramming into a tree Just inside the town line. The dark haired woman hesitated for only a moment before running to the driver’s door and pulling it open. A blonde woman, perhaps a couple of years younger than her, sat at the wheel, looking disoriented but otherwise okay.

“Are you okay?” Regina asked, putting a hand on the other woman’s shoulder.  
The blonde blinked slowly and turned to the older woman, “Uh-huh,” she said a little dopily.  
“You’re not hurt? What’s your name?” Regina asked, trying to assess the situation.  
“I don’t think so,” the woman unclipped her seatbelt, “Emma, my name’s Emma. Where am I?”  
“Storybrooke,” Regina replied on automatic.  
Emma’s eyebrows creased, “Storybrooke,” she curled her tongue around the unfamiliar word.  
Regina nodded, “Storybrooke, Maine. Do you remember where you were going?” she asked, starting to grow concerned for her own reasons now. Who was this woman who could enter Storybrooke, her town? Nobody should be able to find this town, how had this woman skidded straight into it, with no intention whatsoever?  
“Nowhere in particular, I-I can’t really remember,” Emma shrugged, sitting forward in her seat, trying to get a grasp on the situation she was in. “What’s your name?” she realised she hadn’t asked who this woman was.  
“Regina, Regina Mills. I’m the mayor of Storybrooke,” she answered; calming down; this woman seemed harmless. She couldn’t remember a thing.  
“The mayor?” Emma asked incredulously, “A mayor and a superhero, who knew?” she smiled up at the brunette. It took Regina a moment to recognise the look on the younger woman’s face; gratitude, appreciation, something she hadn’t seen in a very long time. And it was then that she had an idea.  
She smiled, “I’m hardly a superhero, dear. Come, why don’t I take you to get some rest?”  
Emma nodded, climbing out of the car clumsily as Regina supported her back to the mayor’s house. 

Regina handed a glass of water to the younger woman who took it gratefully and sipped it slowly as she rested her head on the cushion of the mayor’s couch. Regina smiled as she lifted a blanket over Emma before she swept her blonde hair off of her face. The younger woman wasn’t hurt, but she was tired and confused and the mayor saw an opportunity. Perhaps it was cruel but she needed someone to love, and who was she to deny a chance so well presented. The rest of the night was spent with Regina giving Emma new memories, that yes, maybe Regina was a superhero (and not the villain) who had saved her and that she was more than grateful, she loved the older woman and would never think of leaving her. It was a long night, but through both talking therapy helped along with a little magic, by the morning, Regina wasn’t alone anymore and maybe, she thought, that ache in her chest would begin to fade, even if her heart had only grown darker by deceiving her newfound companion. 

“Regina? Regina?” Emma called out and within seconds the brunette was beside the couch, kneeling down beside her.  
“What is it, dear?” Regina asked.  
“Sorry, I just panicked when you weren’t here,” the younger woman mumbled, averting her eyes.  
Regina’s eyes lit up; finally, somebody who needed her, “That’s okay, I’m here now. Are you feeling okay?”  
Emma nodded, “I guess. A bit of a headache,” she sat up, throwing the blanket from her body, “My head feels kind of fuzzy. What happened last night?”  
Regina bit her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling, “You just got in a small accident on your way home from the grocery store, you’re fine though. Well,” she frowned, “except for that headache. Let me take care of that for you,” she flicked her wrist casually, with a wry smile upon her crimson lips.  
Emma blinked and raised a hand to her head, “Thanks,” she said, “I forgot you could do that.”  
The older woman smiled; it seemed her magic had worked, just like it always did. Emma would be under the impression she had lived with Regina in Storybrooke for as long as she could remember and she would never know any differently. She would be the only one in the town to know of Regina’s magic so she must be sure that the younger woman knew not to tell anybody else. Not that Regina planned on letting her socialise much with members of this town.   
“Mm, I can do anything dear,” she smiled as she cupped Emma’s cheek in her hand, “But you do remember, you can’t mention the,” she hesitated, “…the magic to anybody else.”  
Emma’s eyes were transfixed on the mayor; she was beautiful, she really was, her very presence seemed to stir something in Emma’s bones, in her chest and she nodded, “Of course, I won’t tell a soul,” she smiled and then her smile grew when the older woman beamed at her. Emma didn’t know why but she just had this urge inside of her to please Regina; she felt she would do anything to appease the older woman, and happily so.  
“Good girl,” Regina replied, brushing her thumb over the younger woman’s cheek, biting the inside of her cheek; this was better than she could have imagined. Nobody had looked at her the way the young blonde was right now, for many, many years. She seemed to have forgotten what it was like to be needed, to be loved. And she found herself quite enjoying the attention from the younger woman. This was what she needed, she thought, to have someone to dwindle away the lonely days away in this miserable, cursed town. And this, she thought, was only the beginning. She almost forgot to worry about just how this woman had found her way into Storybrooke. It had happened before though, with a young boy and his father. She would visit the town line tomorrow and strengthen the shield just in case.   
Emma’s eyes were fluttering closed again; long periods of exposure to magic tended to do that some people, “Mm,” she put her head back down on the cushion.  
Regina stood up and lifted the younger woman’s head as she sat on the couch, replacing Emma’s head in her lap as she began to stroke her hair, “Shh, go back to sleep.”  
“But I want to spend time with you,” Emma protested, still fighting her own heavy eyes.  
Regina chortled, “We’ve got all the time in the world, dear. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about time, we have forever,” she whispered.


	2. Holding On Tight

Regina placed down a plate of bacons and eggs in front of her new companion with a small smile on her lips.  
“Thanks,” said the blonde enthusiastically as Regina took the seat next to her, “Looks great.”  
The mayor smiled, “Dig in,” she nodded as she picked up her own cutlery.  
Emma couldn’t help but return that smile every time the brunette flashed her white teeth; she was happy. Regina had taken good care of her guest, only leaving her alone in the mansion to strengthen the shield and dispose of the yellow car that Emma had crashed through the town line.

Regina left a sleeping Emma on the couch; the woman’s body and mind was still recovering, and quickly made her way to the basement. She couldn’t afford to leave the woman alone, so she had broken her own rules and stored her heart in a new fashioned vault in the basement of her mansion. It was risky, but necessary. This too was where she had been working on a solution to readjust the entire town’s memories in one foul swoop. After all, she couldn’t let Emma leave the house until this had been done or disaster would strike. Emma’s memories had been replaced with one’s of Storybrooke; now it was time to replace Storybrooke’s memories with those that included Emma. She pinched the smallest of extracts from the young woman’s heart and placed it in a beaker as she combined it with various liquids, talking quietly to herself the entire time until she was ready to cast the spell. She took a step back, waved a hand and the beaker exploded into a purple smoky mess. Regina smiled as the smoke curled and flew out through the window, ready to wash over the town and it’s people, content that she had achieved her plan. Waving a hand quickly, she cleaned up the remaining beakers and grinning proudly to herself spun around -   
“What…How…What did you do? I thought you didn’t like using magic? You told me you were trying not to use magic,” Emma blinked, looking concerned before her eyes fell on the glowing heart a few feet from her.  
Regina tried to keep her cool; she had told Emma she wasn’t using magic, she still needed that to be kept secret, even to her new pet. It would be dangerous to have anyone around who knew too much about the going’s on of Regina’s hold over Storybrooke.  
“Emma, I’m not using magic,” she said calmly, taking a few quick steps towards the woman, “It was a one off, that’s all. I told you, I would not use it unless it was absolutely necessary.”  
Emma frowned, “So why was it necessary?” she persisted.  
“Emma, don’t worry about it. Please, just trust me,” she held the other woman’s face in both her hands and fixed her with that heavy gaze.  
Emma looked back into those chocolate brown eyes and after thinking for a moment, nodded, “I do trust you,” she whispered.  
“Good girl,” Regina whispered huskily, relieved but scolding herself for being so careless.  
Emma smiled before her eyes diverted from the older woman’s face and onto the glowing heart sitting beside them, “What…is that?”  
Regina almost cursed aloud, instead clearing her throat and picking up the heart lightly, turning away from the blonde and opening a drawer inserting the heart back into it’s case, “Nothing,” she said, waving a hand dismissively, “Come, why don’t we go upstairs?”

Emma didn’t know what it was about the brunette, but intrinsically she seemed to know when she should stop questioning her. She didn’t like to discuss magic; Emma supposed that was why she had been hiding in the basement doing it. She was sick of being stuck in the house though, it almost felt like Regina was hiding her here; claiming that she was sick, and she was feeling ridiculously tired, maybe she was sick, she didn’t know; she just felt weird.  
“Can we go into town today?” she asked Regina.  
Regina hesitated, before smiling, “You’re not too tired?”  
Emma shook her head, “No, I’m not too tired. Please, can we go?”  
Regina’s eyes showed her panic for a mere moment before she composed herself, “Why don’t we stay in today? We can watch that show you like.”  
The blonde woman looked disappointed but nodded, “Okay,” she said sadly before shrugging and looking Regina in the eye, “You don’t have to be scared, you know. I won’t leave.”  
Regina felt the breath catch in her chest; why was this woman able to read her so well? Was she really that obvious? She wondered if she should let her go and try to find another companion, a less observant one perhaps. But no, she liked Emma. She would not give in either, she needed the power, the control.  
“I know dear, but you still look peaky to me,” she held Emma’s chin with a thumb and forefinger, “I just want to take care of you. You know that.”  
Emma bit her lip, “Of course I do,” she nodded, “I want to take care of you too, you know.”

And just like that, with that look in Emma’s eyes and those words fallen from her mouth, Regina’s expression softened and so did something inside. She could not replace Emma, she felt something shift in her heart, the echo of a feeling that she hadn’t experienced in so very many years, and somehow, she forgot about the fact that Emma’s heart was in fact in a drawer in her basement, and managed to fool even herself that this woman cared just as much for her, out of free will and not a magic spell.


	3. Chapter 3

_Regina had her arms wrapped tightly around Emma as the two curled up on the couch, watching some mindless television. She rested her chin on the blonde’s shoulder, her eyes glazing over and her mind wandering as she stared at the television without really seeing it._

Regina was jerked out of her thoughts as Emma laughed loudly next to her, at something Regina had clearly missed on the television. She looked across at the still smiling Emma next to her, and bit her lip down before she chuckled. Emma looked across at her.  
“That was a delayed reaction,” she noted, tilting her head.  
Regina shrugged, “I was laughing at you, not the television.”  
Emma pouted, “Why, what did I do?”  
Jeez, just when Regina thought the blonde couldn’t be anymore adorable, she had to pull that face, Regina thought, “You just look cute when you laugh like that,” she said quietly.  
Emma blushed; she should have been used to the older woman’s compliments by now, but her low voice sent tingles down her spine, “Thank you,” she mumbled, staring into Regina’s chocolate-brown eyes.  
Regina stared right back for a moment before she broke eye contact and looked down at Emma’s left hand resting on the couch cushion. She could actually feel her breath caught in her chest and cursed herself; why was she so nervy around the younger woman? She held all the cards, hell she held this woman’s heart.

With a slow and unsteady hand, she covered the distance between them on the couch and brushed her fingers against Emma’s hand, before covering it with her own and forcing herself to look up at the younger woman. Emma smiled and squeezed Regina’s fingers gently as she shuffled closer to the older woman.  
“I’ve been waiting for a sign,” Emma whispered.  
Regina frowned, “What do you – “  
Emma didn’t let her finish as she pressed her lips onto Regina’s and put a hand on to her cheek, staying like that for the longest moment, but it felt all too quick when she ran out of breath and pulled away, seeing the watery eyes of Regina staring at her.   
“Hey, what’s wrong? Don’t cry,” Emma whispered, running her thumb over the single tear that had escaped the other woman’s eye.  
Regina gritted her teeth, annoyed at herself, “I’m sorry,” she mumbled; the truth was, it was nothing like she had imagined, but so much more and she didn’t know if she could deal with feeling so much…emotion. This wasn’t how it was meant to work; this was meant to be easy, Emma was meant to keep her company on dark nights, it wasn’t meant to be so…real. Especially when it wasn’t, Regina thought to herself angrily, the only reason Emma was here was because Regina had her heart locked away under an enchantment. The question was, was that enough for Regina? 

Then Emma whispered something in her ear that Regina didn’t even hear before she pressed her lips to the brunette’s again, this time nibbling on her bottom lip until she opened her mouth and their tongue’s had their first dance together. Regina felt dizzy with aching; she hadn’t been so…intimate with anyone, physically or emotionally for such a long time, this was too much, she thought. She’d made a mistake, she was better off alone… But then she felt Emma’s hand on her waist push her down gently and the blonde climbed on top of her, their bodies entangled, burying her face in the older woman’s neck as she began to nip and suck and graze her teeth gently over smooth skin as Regina sighed, leaning her head back granting further access as she failed to hold back a moan. Just once, she thought, then I’ll discard this stupid failure of an experiment. I’m better off alone. What was she even thinking? She’d dealt with loneliness for this long, she was Regina, the evil queen, she didn’t need… she didn’t need anyone. So why did she have this ache in her chest and to her very core when the blonde moved her hands onto Regina’s bare stomach, quickly followed by her lips. This had turned into something she never meant it to be; this woman was bringing up feelings in her she thought she would never feel again, feelings that she never wanted to feel again. But, maybe, maybe that was what she had wanted all along? She was driving herself crazy.

“Hey,” Emma interrupted her thoughts, withdrawing her lips for a moment and replacing them with her hands on her stomach.  
Regina blinked and looked down at her, expressionless, “What is it?” she asked, stupidly.  
“Stop thinking so much,” the blonde whispered, a smile playing on her lips.  
“Sorry,” Regina found herself mumbling.  
Emma shrugged, grinning, “It’s okay. You’re so stuck in your own head,” she paused, nibbling on her lip, “Why don’t you let me distract you?”  
Regina put a hand on Emma’s cheek but the younger woman smiled and removed it, kissing her hand gently. She paused and moved her hands to the hem of her own shirt and pulled it off over head. Regina blinked quickly and her hand, as if moving of it’s own free will moved to the other woman’s collarbone as she trailed it down slowly, her eyes following her hand. In a sudden motion, she put a hand in Emma’s hair and pulled her down on top of her before quickly flipping their positions and immersing herself in the blonde woman’s body, finally able to cease the thoughts ricocheting around her head.


	4. A Decision To Make

Emma breathed out slowly as she stared at the ceiling, feeling Regina’s hand in her hair. Her eyes fluttered closed contentedly as she listened to the other woman’ still rapid heartbeat in her ear, a small smile on her lips, also revelling in the feeling of the rise and fall of Regina’s chest.  
“We should…move,” Regina said after a few moments, clearing her throat.  
“Why?” Emma mumbled, not opening her eyes.  
Regina shifted her body slightly, but not removing her hand from the other woman’s hair, “I’m going to go to bed,” she said suddenly, and pushed the other woman away as she sat up.  
“What? Are you okay? Regina – “, Emma frowned.  
“I’m fine,” Regina replied, standing up and grabbing her clothes, “I’m tired,” she continued dismissively, walking away.

Emma frowned and swung her legs off the couch, watching the older woman walk away. She sighed, shaking her head; she didn’t understand. She knew Regina was scared, but she hadn’t figured out exactly what it was she was afraid of. She thought they’d just beaten another barrier down, breaking the sexual tension that had been building up since Emma arrived in Storybrooke but now… Regina was just walking away from her? It was hard not to take offence at that.

Regina closed her bedroom door and threw her clothes onto the floor, climbing into the bed in her underwear. She pulled the covers tight and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think, but she couldn’t stop her mind’s wheel’s turning over and over. She’d enjoyed having Emma around, but it was a constant battle of when to…dispose of this particular venture. At the start, she’d thought it would be nice to have someone around, a _friend_ , something she’d never really had before, somewhere to share this miserable life with, but then came the attraction and she thought maybe, maybe it could be something more. After all, she had the blonde’s heart in her dungeon; she could make this go any way she wanted. And so she did; but she couldn’t help being reminded of her last…conquest. Graham. It had hardly ended well. _And did she learn from her mistakes?_ She thought angrily, _what a fool she was being._ She knew this was different anyway; Graham had never been more than a means to an end. She’d wanted to love him, truly she had, but life had been showing her time and time again you can’t force love. It might work temporarily but it can never replace the real thing. Maybe if she’d never known true love, it would be enough… Maybe if she’d never known Daniel’s love and never felt, expressed her own, then she could settle for this imitation. But she liked Emma, more than she’d ever liked Graham. She didn’t want to purely use Emma for sex and company. She actually enjoyed the younger woman’s company and when she wasn’t around her, her mind wandered tho the younger woman. She didn’t even know what this feeling was. She let the tears escape her screwed up eyes. 

Emma tossed and turned through the night; she didn’t like the way Regina had left things. It was horrible to go from so…ecstatic to total confusion and abandonment. A part of her really wanted to knock on Regina’s door and climb into her spacious bed to snuggle up with her, tell her it was okay to be close, that she really did care about the older woman, that she didn’t need to be scared of…whatever it was that scared her so much. She’d decided against it; maybe Regina needed to figure that out herself. But Emma just couldn’t stop the conflicting thoughts. She just wanted to make the older woman feel safe with her. Because that’s how Regina made Emma feel; safe. She really, really liked Regina but she still felt some kind of ache, some kind of emptiness in her chest and she didn’t understand that. She’d thought maybe the sex would bring them closer, and she could feel the love that she craved. She just didn’t understand, her feelings for the older woman were so strong, and so intense but it didn’t feel like the same kind of love she’d ever had for friends, for her old boyfriend Neal, it felt different somehow.

Emma awoke with a scream, in such intense pain that her eyes took a moment to adjust to the dark. Regina was crouched over her and she her hand was…in her chest. Magic. Why was Regina using magic? And why against her?  
“What are you doing?” Emma gasped, gritting her teeth in pain as her head spun.  
Regina’s eyes brimmed with tears, “Fixing a mistake,” she replied, withdrawing her shaking hand and backing away, watching Emma with wide eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5.

Emma’s breathing was heavy and shaking as she stared at Regina, blinking rapidly, trying to ignore the thumping in her head.  
“What, what did you do?” she asked between breaths.  
Regina swallowed hard, “I put your heart back,” she replied quietly.  
Emma frowned, “My heart,” she echoed, placing a hand over her chest absent minded, “I don’t…Why…” she couldn’t find her words, she felt weird. Different. Unsettled.  
“You crashed into Storybrooke,” Regina started slowly; not only had she given Emma her heart back but she’d returned her memories, though it could be a slow process, “I took your heart,” she admitted, “So you would…stay here with me.”  
Emma shook her head, “Why?” she asked. She remembered now, she did crash her car and Regina had turned up; she’d saved her and… “That night, you bought me back here. You made me believe I’d been here forever. You used…magic,” the word sounded weird, felt weird coming from her mouth.  
Regina nodded, wiping a tear from her cheek, “Yes, I did.”  
“Why?” Emma whispered, up on her knee’s on the bed now, staring at the older woman with eyebrows knitted together, trying to understand.  
The brunette hesitated, “I just wanted a friend,” she said in a low voice, trying not to choke on her words.  
“A friend? We…we were intimate,” Emma replied, not able to ignore the heat creeping up onto her cheeks.  
Regina was grinding her teeth, “Emma, I really, really care about you. That wasn’t fake, I swear. I…I…” she stuttered and faltered, “Please, stay,” she ended in a whisper, somewhat helplessly.

Emma measured the other woman with her eyes; Regina was failing to stop the flow of tears coursing down her cheeks, as quickly as she would angrily flick them away more would appear, “I can’t pretend I don’t have these,” she paused, “feelings for you, Regina. I just can’t figure this…” she put her hand to her chest again, frowning.  
Regina bit her lip down, surveying the younger woman before she crawled onto the bed, sitting on her knee’s in front of the blonde. Hesitatingly, she raised a cautious hand to Emma’s cheek and scraped her fingers lightly against it, her heart almost stopping when Emma’s lips curled upwards into a small smile. A moment later, she crawled into the older woman’s arms and put her head into her chest and she felt Regina’s arms encircle her.  
“I’m sorry,” Regina choked out, “I just wanted to be loved again.”  
Emma just buried her head further into Regina’s chest, “I know. Before I came here,” she bit the inside of her cheek before continuing, “That’s all I wanted too. I was just running away,” she shrugged, “From place to place. I could never just…settle. Until you.”  
Regina let her arms fall away from the blonde, “Only because I took your heart,” she said softly.  
Emma pulled her head out of Regina’s chest to look at her, placing her hands on either side of the brunette’s face, “I have my heart now,” she whispered.  
Regina nodded slowly, “You do,” she agreed.  
“And I,” Emma stopped for a moment, “I’d like to stay…for now, at least. I’m tired, my head hurts, I feel weird…”  
“I’m sorry,” Regina breathed, “It’s a big impact on the mind…bringing back all those memories… It will ease soon, I promise.”  
Emma shrugged, “It’s not just that, it’s my…feelings. I can’t figure it out, I can’t feel, I’m so confused, I just want things to make sense again,” she finished loudly, in frustration, throwing her hands into the air before gripping her head and screwing her eyes closed.  
Regina’s eyes were full of guilt as she took Emma’s hands in her own, “I’m sorry,” she’d never said the word so much, let alone meant it, “You need to sleep. Please, sleep,” she gestured towards the pillow, “Things will be clearer tomorrow, really, they will.”

Emma nodded and lay back on the bed, turning her face into the pillow and pulling the covers up to reach her chest. As she closed her eyes, she felt Regina move closer and felt a hand in her hair for a brief moment before she felt the covers tighten around her and the weight leave the bed. She opened her eyes and made a noise in her throat, stretching out her hand. Regina felt the brush of fingers against her own and turned around.  
“Stay with me, please,” Emma asked.  
Regina nodded and squeezed Emma’s hand as she sat down on the bed beside her watching the blonde woman close her eyes. Regina took a shaky breath in; for all she knew, this could be her last night with the woman, and though she considered magic again for the quickest minute, she knew she could never use it this way again. All she could do now was wait to see exactly how Emma’s feelings would settle by the morning. She tried not to think about the fact that by this time tomorrow, she could be alone again, and this time forever.


	6. The Truth... Kinda

Regina sat, fingers tapping the glass that her hand encircled. Maybe this was a mistake. It would be so easy to return to Emma’s room and start again; she could still erase all this. Change her memories and take her heart again, bury it in her vault. And then she wouldn’t have to be alone, she thought. She sighed because she knew, even if she did use magic to trick Emma into staying…again, she would still be alone. She’d learnt from her own mother how not to love, and how if you held too tight you would only drive people away. And if you were tricked into loving a person, it really wasn’t love at all. True love wasn’t something you could create, without any amount of magic. 

In a sudden moment of frustration, Regina picked up her glass and threw it against the wall, watching it smash against the wall and shatter over the floor before she put her head in her hands. She’d always used magic. It solved everything. There was nothing she couldn’t do without her power. And now…now, it had betrayed her. What hurt the most was this wasn’t the first time she had felt like this, so why did she keep blindly using magic, thinking it would change things? It hadn’t killed Snow White, because she had had true love, it hadn’t been able to bring Daniel back from the dead, it had soured her relationship with her mother deeply, she hadn’t even been able to keep that little boy, Owen, in Storybrooke with magic; his own love for his father too powerful. She sighed; it seemed everyone had something more powerful than magic besides her; true love. She’d thought she could live without it, power trumping every human emotion, but almost as soon as she’d landed in this world, this town, she’d realised how wrong she had been.

“Regina?” a small but steady voice interrupted her thoughts.   
She pulled her head out of her hands quickly and tried to compose herself as she saw the blonde standing awkwardly in the doorway, “Hey,” she said, a little stupidly.   
Emma smiled, “Hey,” she echoed as she took a few tentative steps forward, spotting the smashed glass, “What happened?” Regina followed her eyes onto the pieces of glass strewn over the floor, cursing herself internally, the noise must have woken the younger woman, she shrugged in answer. “You threw it,” it wasn’t a question so Regina just shrugged again, “Are you okay?”   
Regina looked at Emma incredulously, after everything, why was there still that tenderness in those forest green eyes. Regina frowned, “I’m fine,” she lied, before hesitating, “What about you?”  
Emma ran a hand through her hair as she moved closer to the older woman, “Headache’s gone,” she smiled as she pulled out the chair next to Regina and sat down, “I don’t know though,” her brow furrowed, “I know you think it was just the magic, but I still…feel for you,” she paused, “It hasn’t gone away,” she finished, slowly.  
Regina frowned, “It hasn’t?”   
Emma shook her head, “Nope,” she said simply, as her hand found Regina’s, “I mean, I’m not exactly a fan of the way you took my heart to keep me here, not that I really understand how that’s possible – “   
“It’s magi – "  
Emma held up a hand, “I know, it’s magic. But where I come from, magic is just from some land of fairy tale’s, it’s not real. Real people don’t have magic. I thought maybe I was losing my mind… I don’t know, maybe I am,” she stopped and her shoulders dropped, “I mean…you’re human, right?”  
Regina nodded, “I’m human. And you’re not losing your mind, Emma,” to prove it, she flicked her wrist at the broken pieces of glass at the ground which reassembled themselves perfectly on the table, down to the last few drops of whiskey that had resided there before the smash. She couldn’t help smiling at the wonder if Emma’s eyes.  
Emma blinked a few times, staring at the glass, “Right. Is that why you won’t let me go into town?” she asked quietly, “Does everyone here have magic?”   
Regina was taken aback by the question and stuttered, “Well…well,” she sighed, “Not exactly. Not anymore,” she sighed, continuing at the quizzical look on the blonde’s face, “I took it away,” she said softly.   
“You took it away?” Emma repeated slowly, “Why would you do that?”  
Regina hung her head for a moment, before raising it to meet those eyes again, and reached a hand to gently cup the other’s woman’s cheek, “I’m not a nice person,” she almost whispered.   
Emma tilted her head and half-nuzzled into the older woman’s hand; it felt nice to be touched by her again, “I don’t believe that,” she whispered back, lightly pecking the palm of Regina’s hand.   
Regina’s eyes widened, “Even after…after I – “   
“You’re just scared to be alone,” Emma replied matter of factly and when, seeing the fear that entered Regina’s eyes added, “But you’re not alone now.”   
Regina grimaced, too afraid to hope, “But you don’t want to stay, not really. Not now,” it wasn’t a question, more of a resignation, though she tried to hide the defeat in her tone. Emma pulled Regina’s hand from her cheek and ran it down her body, leaving it to rest over her chest, “Feel that?” she asked, “I have my heart now, right? I want to stay.”   
Regina’s fingers tingled feeling the pulse under her hand and she couldn’t help herself; she surged forward and pressed her lips against Emma’s, one hand still resting on her heart and the other gripping her behind the ear and pulling her close. Emma responded eagerly for a few moments before she pulled away, licking her lips as she looked into Regina’s dark eyes, pupils slightly more dilated than usual.  
“But things have to be different, you can’t keep me locked up in here, Regina,” she said, a little nervously, tracing her fingers over the hand that the brunette still held over her heart, “I need to go out, I’ve hardly seen the town, I – “   
“I know,” Regina said lowly, “I know. This town…it’s complicated. Nobody new ever comes here… not since… and not… not until now.”   
Emma’s face wrinkled as she tried to understand these half-cut sentences, “Regina, what is this place?”   
Regina sighed, “I’ll tell you. Then you can really decide if you want to stay or not.”


	7. Storybook, Storybrooke

Emma’s head was spinning, “So, you put a curse on…everyone to move them to this world, without magic,” she said slowly, trying to take in what Regina was telling her, “Because you were trying to get revenge… On who?”  
Regina sighed, “A woman called Snow White, she – “  
“Snow White?” Emma laughed, “You’re pulling my leg, right?”  
Regina frowned, confused, “Why would I be pulling your leg, dear?”  
“Snow White isn’t real,” Emma chuckled, “She’s from a fairy tale. It’s just a kids story.”   
Regina tilted her head; “A fairy tale? You said that earlier too… What is that?”

Emma’s eyebrows met as she came to the realisation Regina really had no idea what she was talking about, “A fairy tale. I don’t know, they are just these bedtime stories about princesses and stuff that parents tell to their kids. They try to like teach kid moral stories or whatever through them, I guess, like little red riding hood is this chick and she goes to see her grandma or something but there’s this wolf and, well it depends which version you read, sometimes she survives but sometimes she gets killed, or the grandma gets killed and anyway, it’s meant to teach us not to trust strangers.”  
Regina blinked, “Well, that’s not exactly how it goes. But,” she hesitated, “I know Red, well she’s Ruby now, but you got the story wrong. Red is the wolf.”   
Emma laughed, “Right, that’s a cool twist, Regina,” she stopped laughing when she saw Regina looking pale, “Hey…what, you’re serious, aren’t you?”  
The brunette nodded weakly, “What other… fairy tale’s do you have?”  
Emma bit her lip, “Um, well Snow White, obviously and – “  
“What’s her story?” Regina asked, curiosity getting the best of her. 

“Well, she’s this nice little girl, she’s meant to be really pretty, and she just dances around all colourful or something, she meets some dwarfs I think, ” she scratched her head, “I haven’t read it for ages, but her step-mother is like some evil queen and she poisons some apple, or something, and disguises herself and gives it to Snow White who falls into this coma that can only be broken if Prince Charming comes and kisses her,” she rolled her eyes, “It’s pretty lame, but he does and then she wakes up and they’re all happy, I guess,” she shrugged, “I can’t remember what became of the evil queen though.”  
Regina nodded silently for a moment, “Well… she wanted her revenge so she cast a curse on the land and sent them to this world, without magic and without their memories,” she swallowed hard, watching the expression on Emma’s face change.   
Emma didn’t speak for a moment, “You’re saying you’re the evil queen? Regina, this is…” she paused and flinched when she felt the older woman’s hand on her cheek.   
“Sorry,” Regina pulled away but Emma shook her head and so she reapproached, “I know… It’s a lot to take in, but,” she bit the corner of her lip before she shrugged, “It’s my life.”  
Emma nodded, looking thoughtful, “I don’t think you’re evil,” was all she said before she abruptly closed the gap between the two women and pressing her lips against Regina’s, feeling her hand drop down to her waist, fingers gripping the material of the older woman’s shirt. She felt Regina’s tongue lash out against her teeth and entangle itself with her own.   
“Thank you,” Regina whispered as she pulled away, “But you didn’t know me then,” she murmured, her face still inches away from the younger woman’s.

Emma couldn’t deny that; she didn’t know Regina when she was…the evil queen. And in the fairy tale, the evil queen was pretty awful. She was vain and cruel and poisoned poor Snow White because she thought she was prettier than her. Emma supposed that was pretty evil. But…that wasn’t Regina. She forced herself not to think about the things Regina had done, as the evil queen or even to her only recently. Emma shook her head viciously, emptying her head of those thoughts. She knew it wasn’t…normal and maybe even not healthy, but the older woman did make her feel safe, something she’d never felt before.

“There’s just one thing that I don’t get, if you’re the evil queen…” Emma mused, thoughtfully.  
Regina narrowed her eyes, “What’s that? Something else from your stories?”  
Emma nodded, “Yep. In the stories, all the stories, the evil queen is always really ugly and horrible. That’s why she’s so jealous of Snow White for being so pretty. But,” she tilted her head, a smile playing on her lips, “You’re so beautiful and sexy and attractive and – “ she stopped when Regina laughed.  
“Well, I don’t think your stories are all that accurate,” she winked, a smirk on her face, “And thank you,” she added, nibbling her bottom lip.  
Emma shrugged, blushing slightly, “Not accurate at all. So… can you show me them?”  
“What?” Regina asked.  
“All the storybook…Oh!” Emma laughed, “Storybrooke, of course. Can you show me the characters? Who they all are in the town, I mean?”  
Regina’s expression was perplexed, “You want to meet the townsfolk?  
” Emma nodded, “Yeah, but I want you to tell me which character’s they’re meant to be.”  
“Not ‘meant to be’ dear, they are. Or were, in the Enchanted Forest.”  
Emma’s eyes widened once more, “Enchanted Forest? Is that where you bought everyone from?”  
Regina nodded, “Yeah, that’s where this whole town came from. Also, um, the town? They all know you already," she added quietly.  
Emma sighed, "You're a complicated woman, Regina Mills. Isn't it exhausting casting all these memory spells or whatever?"  
"Yes," Regina admitted, "It is. So you have to pretend you already - "  
"No," Emma cut in, "Take it away. I want to meet them for real," Emma ordered firmly, but softened by adding, "Please."

Regina thought about denying the request, but with all that she had put Emma through, she did sort of owe her,   
"Okay, I'll take it away. Can we go tomorrow though? I'll need time... Plus, I want to spend tonight with you. That is, if you want to stay,” she added, trying but failing to keep the vulnerability out of her voice.  
Emma’s face lit up, “Of course I want to stay,” she said eagerly, “And of course I want to spend the night with you,” she added so enthusiastically that she immediately felt the heat rise up her cheeks.  
Regina chuckled, “Oh, I see what you’re thinking,” she continued laughing, “I can’t say the thought hasn’t crossed my mind,” her tongue flicked out quickly to wet her lips, “You are so adorable,” she murmured, pulling the blonde closer.  
“Aw man, adorable, really?” Emma whined, “I’m not a kid, you know.”  
Regina shook her head, the smirk not leaving her lips, “Mm, I know,” she pulled Emma into her lap, “Cause you’re damn sexy too, but I think you know that,” she whispered as her hands found Emma’s stomach, making quick work of her tank top as her teeth grazed over the skin on her collarbone.


	8. A Walk Through Town

Regina tried to rack her brain but she couldn’t think of anything she had left out about the functioning of Storybrooke, the fact that time had stopped, that everybody other than her had no memory of the enchanted forest, that nobody had entered this town since a little boy and his father until now, Emma. She was sure she had missed something out; it was a complicated place but it was all she could think of for now, so eventually the two of them drifted into a sleep curled up next to one another.

“So, does that mean if I stay here, I won’t ever age?” Emma mused as she got dressed the next morning. 

Regina chuckled, “So many questions, dear. I don’t know exactly, I don’t know how some people manage to get over the town line, it’s quite a mystery. You must be special,” she smiled again, placing a hand on Emma’s cheek and brushing it lightly with her fingers before pulling away and throwing her jacket on as Emma shrugged her own on.

The mayor had to admit she was a little nervous about taking the younger woman into town; not that she was afraid of what the townsfolk would think but she was afraid of what Emma would think of the town and of her cruelty, now that she would be putting names to faces of these fairy tale characters she seemed to have grown up reading about.

“That’s little red riding hood?” Emma whispered, her eyes measuring up the waitress who was walking away from their table, “She’s not very… Hm,” she tilted her head to the side.  
“Are you checking her out?” Regina asked, a slight hint of jealousy creeping it’s way into her voice, “It’s Ruby here, by the way. Please don’t call people by their…other names.” 

Emma switched her attention back to the mayor, “No, of course not,” she retorted before shrugging, “But I mean she dresses like…”

Regina rolled her eyes, “I know. She never used to, but everyone kind of changed a little since we arrived here,” she shrugged before taking a sip of her coffee.

Emma nodded, “And they really don’t remember anything?”

“No, they really don’t,” Regina sighed and the two of them went silent as Ruby bought them their food with an upbeat smile that never left her face and then disappeared, “But Emma,” she persisted, “You must not call them by their – "

“I know, I know,” Emma cut in, waving her hand, “It’s cool, I get it. What about her, who’s she?” she nodded her head towards a pretty woman who had just entered and was leaning on the counter talking to Ruby quietly.

Regina looked over her shoulder, trying to look inconspicuous, “Ah,” she said, “That’s Belle,” she smiled as she turned back to Emma.

“Belle…like beauty and the beast…” Emma mused, chuckling.

Regina squinted an eye before nodding, “That fits quite well,” she looked at Belle again, “She and Ruby are like…best friends or whatever.”

Emma couldn’t help but notice that Regina’s eyes had grown slightly darker, they did that sometimes, usually when… “Oh!” Emma exclaimed, before giggling, “Did you and Belle have a thing or something?”

The brunette was shocked and her face showed it, she frowned, “Why would you say that?”

Emma smirked, “Cause your eyes got all…dark when you talked about her, and that’s how they get when I, when we…” she trailed off, biting her lip, “So I thought maybe you liked her,”

Emma shrugged, “She is pretty cute.”

Regina blushed and then cursed herself for it, feeling the heat on her cheeks, “She is…not hard to look at,” she confirmed.

Emma’s smile widened, “You’re embarrassed,” she noted.

“Oh shut up,” Regina snapped, but her lips threatened to curve upwards, “Are you done?” 

Emma laughed silently, nodding as she took a final sip of her hot chocolate, “Yeah, sure.”

________________________________________________

“It’s small,” Emma observed as the two walked through the town, “I like it though, it’s very…quaint, it’s like something from – “ 

“A fairy tale?” Regina teased light heartedly, squeezing the young woman’s hand.

“Mm,” Emma nodded, “Something like that, it’s a nice place though. I like it here,” she lent into the older woman and quickly kissed her on the cheek, “hey, in this…Enchanted Forest,” she curled her tongue around the unfamiliar phrase, “Was there…um,” she hesitated, feeling herself blush again, “homosexuality?”

“Sure,” Regina replied lightly, “It wasn’t really an issue like it is here. I mean, some people didn’t like it, sure, but most people didn’t have a problem. There weren’t so many labels… you just liked who you liked,” she shrugged.

Emma nodded, “Oh,” she pondered for a moment, “But there aren’t really any gay fairy tales,” she pointed out.

Regina frowned, tilting her head to the right, “There aren’t?” she replied in surprise, thinking for a moment, “Well…that’s on this world’s interpretation then, not ours, dear. I could tell you a story or two,” she smiled.

Emma couldn’t keep the curiosity out of her eyes and she nudged the other woman with her elbow gently, “Oh yeah? Tell me then,” she prompted.

Regina laughed openly at the younger woman’s shining eyes, “Well… you know those ladies from the diner – “

“The one you like – Belle?” Emma interrupted teasingly.

Regina glared at her playfully, “Yes, Belle. And her friend, Ruby. Well, before Belle was taken by…the beast, as you referred to him as, and fell in love with him, Rumplestiltskin by the way, they were…well, I don’t know how serious it was, but they were certainly more than friends. I think it was quite casual,” she finished.

Emma simply nodded.

Regina sniggered, “Now who’s got the darkened eyes thing going on?”

The younger woman blushed and tried, failing, to glare at the brunette, “Shut up,” she muttered, “It would not be hard…to look at,” she giggled, throwing Regina’s earlier words back at her, resulting in an eye roll, “I can see though, why you would like it here.”

Regina frowned, “I only really like it since you have arrived, dear,” she alleged quietly.

“Really?” Emma questioned, “Why? Because you’ve been lonely? But these people, they seem so nice, I mean that Jiminy Cricket guy is maybe a bit overfriendly but – “

Regina shook her head as she let a breath out, “They do seem nice. But… I guess I had more to do as the Evil Queen, here, being the mayor, it’s nothing really,” she shrugged.

“But you’re not Evil…not anymore,” Emma squeezed the older woman’s hand.

Regina wanted to roll her eyes at the younger woman’s naivety, “Perhaps,” she simply agreed.

Emma nibbled on her bottom lip for a few moments in silence before she braved voicing her mind, “Will you ever give them back their memories?”

Regina frowned, looking at the blonde, “I haven’t thought about it,” she replied honestly.

Emma nodded, “Oh,” she responded.

“Are you having second thoughts?” Regina asked, tightening her grip on Emma’s hand unconsciously.

“No,” Emma shook her head, “It’s just…” she trailed off.

Regina analysed the other woman’s expression concluding that Emma was scared, “Just what?” and when Emma shook her head and shrugged, “It’s okay. You can speak your mind, Emma, I don’t mind.”

Emma smiled quickly, “It’s just,” she sighed, “They seem nice is all,” she shrugged, “I mean, I know you have this history with Snow White that I can’t even begin to understand… but what about the rest of them, do they really deserve…this?”

Regina knew she shouldn’t be surprised; she’d told the young woman to speak her mind, but she hadn’t been challenged like this in so long, it took her a moment to gather her thoughts, “They were all on her side. By punishing them, I punished Snow. She always put her people first, the saint that she was,” she rolled her eyes, “So knowing that it was her fault – “

“But she doesn’t know,” Emma interjected, “Does she? She’s just clueless, so she’s not really being punished,” she took a deep breath, “But you… You have all your memories, which are painful, so you’re living with all your memories, whilst they’re oblivious to the revenge you’ve taken, it just seems…backwards.”

The brunette blinked slowly; she’d never thought about it like that, “So you would have me take my own memory away?”

Emma’s throat made a frustrated noise as she threw her hands up, “No, Regina. You can’t just edit people’s memories and expect your pain to go away, life doesn’t work like that,” she didn’t mean to sound as harsh as she did but on the other hand, maybe that’s what Regina needed, “I think,” she paused, treading carefully, “Well, I think everyone deserves to know where they came from,” she finished quietly.

Regina rubbed her temples, “This is hurting my head. Can you give me some time to think about this? We can talk about it again later.”

Emma nodded, “Okay,” she continued nervously, “Are…we okay?”

Regina’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “Of course we are, honey. I like that you challenge me,” she smiled warmly at the other woman, “But this subject is… difficult for me. I’ve never really dissected it the way you just did, I just need some processing time.”

Emma squeezed her hand, nodding.  
________________________________________________

A small, brunette woman, dressed modestly approached the two woman as they reached the mayor’s street. Regina sighed, and Emma noted that she looked irritated at the appearance of this particular woman.

“This is Mary Margaret, she is a teacher at the local school,” Regina said with a hint of coldness in her voice. 

The woman seemed insecure, with her eyes constantly flickering around, but she held out her hand to shake Emma’s hand, “Nice to meet you,” she said nervously and her eyes rested on the younger woman’s face for a few seconds, she frowned and opened her mouth again, “Have we…met before? You look familiar.”

Emma quickly looked at Regina before she shook her head, “No,” she replied, “I don’t think so.”

“Are you sure?” Mary Margaret persisted, “I could swear…” she trailed off, “You just look like…I don’t know... someone.”

“If she says she’s never met you, dear,” Regina interjected in a low, almost threatening voice.

Emma’s head snapped to the older woman in confusion, “Regina, it’s fine – “

“We should get going,” Regina took Emma’s hand with a little more force than usual and nodded to Mary Margaret as she pushed past her, rather rudely, Emma thought, but she followed the older woman, giving a quick nod and grimace to the school teacher, almost jogging to keep up with Regina and still trying to figure out what the hell had her so tightly wound. 

\------------------

"What was all that about?" Emma asked, as Regina pulled her away.

Regina shrugged, "That was Snow White...I just don't like her," she lied; of course that was true, but she also hadn't liked that Snow had recognised Emma. She'd messed with a lot of memories lately, she hoped nothing was coming undone when she'd just got things like she liked it.

"She kind of looked familiar to me too... But that can't be possible, right?" Emma frowned; she hadn't been in town since the night she crashed, she hadn't met anyone from the town other than Regina, who, right now was looking as pale as a ghost, "Regina? What is it?"

"I just...figured something out," she breathed, "It all makes sense now."


	9. More Truth

“I’m what?” Emma questioned in disbelief, her head swimming.

  
Regina closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them and meeting the blonde’s own, swallowing hard before she whispered, “Snow White’s daughter.”

  
**Moments earlier…**

“Figured out what?” Emma asked breathlessly, jogging to keep up with the older woman and slipping her hand back into Regina’s in a fruitless effort to slow her down.

Regina shook her head, wordlessly, clearly battling something internally, but battling what, Emma had no idea.

“That was Snow White?” Emma continued, trying to make some semblance out of the situation.

Regina snapped her eyes to the younger woman for a moment, sighing “Mary Margaret,” she answered monotonously. Emma could see it in her eyes; when she retreated back into her thoughts and still pulling Emma along faster than her legs liked.

Well, Snow White. That made things a little clearer; Emma knew the two women had an unpleasant history. At least, that explained that cold edge Regina’s voice had taken on earlier, but why was it getting to her so much? And how had the school teacher somehow recognised her? Had Regina’s magic somehow failed?  
It had seemed to work on everyone else that they had encountered that day; nobody else had recognised Emma, and Emma hadn’t recognised any of them. Why was this woman different?

“Regina…,” Emma started, hesitating, “What’s going on? Did something go wrong with the spell? Is that why she could remember me? Is that why – “

“Please, just shut up for a moment, Emma,” Regina snapped, immediately regretting how harsh she had sounded but returning to her silence as she pulled the other woman up the driveway, only letting go to dig around in her bag for her keys and open the door. Regina threw her bag down and lent against the wall.

Emma chewed the inside of cheek for a moment, unsure of where she stood or what to do. She wanted to comfort the woman but she really looked like she needed her space. She decided to busy herself by making a cup of tea, giving Regina some time to compose herself. She didn’t understand what was happening but she could see in Regina’s eyes that she was in the room, but she wasn’t really present.  
She was deep in the abyss of her own mind, thinking about god knows what, and Emma just had to trust that the older woman would talk to her when she had figured it out herself.

Regina was rubbing her temples, trying to compose herself. She took a deep breath and pulled her slumped body away from the wall and over to where Emma was now sitting in the arm chair, sipping a cup of coffee. She was so patient, Regina thought sadly, as she bent down in front of her, taking the coffee out of her hands and placing it on the table behind her. She couldn’t help cupping the blonde’s cheek with her hand, running her thumb over pale skin slowly.

“Are you okay?” the concern was evident, almost heart-breaking in Emma’s voice as she leaned into the hand on her cheek whilst still nibbling her bottom lip.

Regina’s shoulders dropped; this was about to get very complicated, “I don’t know, honey,” she replied sadly.

Emma let her teeth release her lip, “What is it? Is it your magic, did it wear off – “

Regina put a hand up to silence the younger woman, and shook her head, “The magic is fine,” she pulled her hand away from Emma’s face, with the intention of breaking all physical contact with the other woman but Emma quickly took her hand and ran her fingers over her upturned palm. Regina had broken eye contact too, until Emma next spoke and she forced herself to meet the younger woman’s forest green eyes, and once she had, she couldn’t have looked away if she’d wanted to.

Emma frowned, “So how…?”

Regina swallowed, “You’re her daughter,” she barely whispered.

“I’m what?” Emma questioned in disbelief, her head swimming.

Regina closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them and meeting the blonde’s own, swallowing hard before she whispered, “Snow White’s daughter.”


	10. Overload

Emma went from one extreme to the other; she had been speechless for minutes on end and then burst into a rant, all of her thoughts rushing out of her mouth too quickly for her to edit, “That’s not possible,” she started, “I’ve never been to this Enchanted Forest, I’m not a part of this fairy tale world, Regina. You know I was coming from Boston, I just got here, how can I be her daughter? She’s hardly any older than me – “

“Do you know your biological mother?” Regina asked quietly, already sure of the answer.

Emma stopped talking, she shook her head, “But that doesn’t mean I’m Snow White’s daughter. I was abandoned on the side of a highway,” she shrugged, “They never found my real parents, but that happens with heaps of abandoned kids, I bet.”

“Emma – “ Regina tried to speak calmly, but Emma was reaching levels of hysteria now as she stood up.

“No, don’t. Just stop,” she said loudly, her hands shaking, “You messed with my memories, you took my heart, I didn’t care. I let you get away with all that, but this? You can’t…” she shook her head, trying to clear her head, “This is too much,” she tried to take a deep breath and swallowed hard, “You can’t… I’m not from your world. Why do you need me to be? I thought we were okay.”

Regina’s shoulders dropped as her eyes closed, “I don’t need you to be, not at all. But twenty eight years ago I cast this curse… and your parents, they put you in this magical wardrobe to send you away, to keep you safe. That’s how you ended up on the side of the highway, that’s why nobody could find your parents. It makes sense.”

“No,” Emma said steadily, “That does not make sense. Are you listening to yourself? This is…” she continued to shake her head, “I’m going for a walk, this is just ridiculous.”

Regina’s voice was higher than she meant it to be in panic, “Emma, please, stay, let me explain this – “

“No. I’ve lived my whole life knowing my parents didn’t want me, you can’t just come in and say…” she trailed off, “Just no. I’m leaving, I’ll…come back later, when I’m ready.”

And with that she left a dejected looking Regina and walked out the door, arms crossed as she power walked down the street. She didn’t even know where to go in this stupid town, she thought angrily, was there even a bar here? Did fairy tale characters drink? All of a sudden, this whole thing was too much. Why did Regina have to bring her parents into it?

 

She’d accepted a long time ago that her parents had abandoned her and never tried to track her down, that she was unwanted and that was just fine by her. Or at least, she had buried the pain deep enough to pretend it was. She didn’t need some crazy explanation to why her parents had sent her away, and a fucking fairy tale? Snow White? Maybe she was going insane and this was all some facet of her mind. Maybe Regina wasn’t even real, she felt a pang in her heart when she thought that the woman she had these deep, if confusing, feelings for was just a figment of her imagination. 

She was so lost in her own thoughts she wasn’t even looking where she was going, and if she had been her eyes would have been so blurred from the tears she wouldn’t have seen the woman before she crashed into her anyway.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, blinking quickly, frustrated that a couple of tears had snuck their way out of her eyes.

“That’s okay, I was texting, my fault,” the brunette from the diner smiled at her shyly, pocketing her phone.

Emma nodded and made to move on.

“Are you okay?” she asked, looking at the face Emma was obviously trying to hide.

Emma nodded, wiping her face quickly, “I’m fine. It’s um Belle, right?”

Belle looked surprised, “Yeah, that’s right. I saw you around town today, you’re new to town, right?”

The blonde nodded, “Yeah, I’m staying with Regina.”

“Oh,” Belle sounded surprised, “That’s nice,” she went on, “I don’t think I’ve ever known her to have a visitor before, are you family?”

“Oh, no. We just met recently,” that was a simplified rendition of things, Emma thought.

Belle nodded, “Do you like it here?”

Emma could have laughed, not knowing how to answer that, “It’s quite nice,” was what she went with, “Is there a bar around?”

Belle smiled understandingly, “Well of course, that’s where I’m heading to meet my friend, Ruby. You should come along if you like. It’s a pretty low key kind of place but it’s nice.”

Emma considered; she should return to Regina… but a couple of drinks wouldn’t hurt, “Um, sure. I won’t stay long, I should get back and I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

Belle beamed, “You’re not intruding, we like new people. We never get anyone pass through town, so you can tell us all your adventures out in… Where are you from?”

“Well, I just came from Boston,” Emma replied as the two began walking through the town.

Regina put her head in her hands, had she just ruined everything? Emma had looked so…upset, confused, hurt. The mayor knew she was right but maybe she should have just let sleeping dogs lie, but how could she claim to love Emma and keep such a huge secret from her? 

Everybody deserved to know their family, and Emma’s were right across town. It just had to be her, it made sense. It had been twenty eight years, and Emma was one of the very few people to cross the town line. Snow and Charming had sent their baby away to return twenty eight years later and break the evil queen’s curse; everybody knew that.

It made perfect sense. Now she just needed a way to prove that to Emma, now that she had opened this can of worms. And then what? She couldn’t think about that right now, she took a long and shaky breath, one step at a time, she thought, or this would just become way too overwhelming. 

She looked at the clock, it was getting dark and Emma was still out. Should she go and look for her? Maybe she should give the woman her space. What if she ran away and didn’t come back? It was that thought that had Regina grab her car keys and head out the door.

“Bail bonds… Like a bounty hunter? That sounds fun,” Ruby said enthusiastically. 

Emma shrugged, “It’s okay, I guess.”

“So how did you end up in Storybrooke?” Belle asked as she set some more drinks down on the table, “It’s a pretty far cry from the street’s of Boston, I bet.”

The blonde nodded, “I was just…passing through but I decided I’d stay a while…but now… I don’t know, I may leave soon.”

“Oh,” Belle nodded, “Small town, it must feel pretty lacklustre compared to the city.”

“Well, it’s not that. It’s actually quite refreshing, I like it here,” she took another long drink before shrugging, “I wish I could stay,” she muttered causing Ruby and Belle to exchange simultaneous frowns.

“Why can’t you? Do you have someone waiting for you in Boston?” Ruby guessed with a wolfish grin, though from the sullen expression on the other woman’s face she was guessing it was something more serious.

Emma shrugged as she stood up, “Refills?” she asked, ignoring the question.

Belle shook her head, holding up her half-full glass, “No…thanks,” she replied as Ruby held up her glass too, shaking her head as Emma walked over to the bar.

“What do you think?” Ruby asked, tilting her head with a slight frown on her face.   
Belle pulled a face, “I don’t know, I guess it isn’t really our business Rubes,” but she couldn’t pretend she wasn’t curious, or concerned too but then her attention was bought to the mayor who had just walked through the doors, scanning the bar for Emma.

“Emma,” a quiet voice sounded behind her as she felt a brush on her arm and turned around.

“Regina,” she sighed, “What are you doing here?” she questioned as she took an unsteady step away from the bar.

Regina frowned, “You’re drunk,” she stated as she rubbed her temples.

“A little tipsy,” Emma shrugged, “I’m fine, I just needed to…” she trailed off.

“Honey, I’m sorry. I should have…I don’t know, told you a little more sensitively…” Regina started, losing her confidence mid-sentence.

“It’s not how you told me, Regina, it’s what you told me,” Emma took a sip of her drink but Regina pulled it away from her, “What are you – “

“Please, this is the truth, Emma. I wouldn’t tell you this if I didn’t believe it,” Regina realised she was pleading, something so unlike her, but she needed the younger woman to look at her the way she did before she’d ever mentioned this whole thing, “Please, Emma. I can show you.”

“Show me?” Emma echoed, her scepticism wavering; she didn’t like fighting with Regina but this idea…it still seemed ridiculous to me.

Regina nodded, “I know how I can show you, I just need you to give me a chance,” she whispered.

Emma closed her eyes, thinking for a moment, “Okay…Okay, let’s just go home, I need to sleep anyway,” she muttered.

Regina placed a hand on the other woman’s cheek, forgetting that Ruby and Belle, not to mention the rest of the bar had been watching them curiously and not at all discreetly, “Yes, you do,” she smiled a little, “Your eyes are all droopy, dear,” she paused, “It’s kind of cute though,” she whispered as she took Emma’s hand and led her home.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11.  
Emma merely grumbled a muffled goodnight as she crashed herself onto the pillow which felt like heaven on her pounding head, her eyes fluttering close dopily, only mildly aware of a hand sweeping through her hair and the quiet groan she let out in response; she did love the way Regina did that, she thought, before she drifted off to sleep before Regina’s hand even made it to her cheek. 

Regina smiled and bent down to press her lips against the sleeping woman's cheek before standing up, turning the light off on the way out as she closed the bedroom door. She could feel herself shaking and attempted to calm herself down, pouring herself a whiskey with her trembling hands. 

What she was about to do went against her very nature and quite honestly, she couldn't believe she was considering it. Who would have ever known that when she had rescued the younger woman from her car that night the impact that Emma would have on her. She had never thought she would, or even that she could care about anyone that way again.  
She followed the steps down into her basement, closing and locking the door behind her. She didn't even know if this would work, the strength she had put into this curse was a formidable opponent; she knew she was the only one who could break it. She laughed upon thinking that, it wasn't her that would break it at all, it hit her, it was Emma. She really was breaking the curse and she didn't even know it. Emma had turned up, twenty eight years later, and unknowingly the Evil Queen had fallen in love with her enemy's daughter... And it was that... true love, that would break the curse. Who ever would have thought?

And so with a pinch of this and an ounce of that, she made a simple potion. Simple, at least, until the last vital ingredient were added.

She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth and, well there was no gentle way to do this, she knew, so she threw her hand inside her chest, unable to hold a gasp of pain back; so this was what it felt like she thought, her vision blurring as she pulled her hand out holding her heart. 

She had only done this once before, a long time ago, after her first kill to see how dark it had made her heart, but now...now it was so much darker, though there was a beaming red light in the center that seemed to radiate, and Regina knew just where that had come from. With a thumb and forefinger she took the smallest pinch of her own heart that she could and added it to the potion.

Then, with just as much pain as taking it out, she slipped her heart back into chest, unable to quench the whimper of pain that escaped her throat. But just like that, the pain was gone.

It wasn't a dark and purple haze this time and it wasn't slow either. It was just an enthusiastic pulse that swept across the whole Storybrooke, making the air feel somehow fresher, crisper and by this time of night most of the town was asleep, but there was sure to be havoc in the morning, Regina knew, and probably a very angry mob at her door. Which was why she needed to go and see Snow, now.

Regina quickly checked in on Emma, who was still sleeping peacefully spread out on her bed; she would probably be out for a while yet, Regina figured but still, she knew she had to act as quickly as she could though she'd give anything to procrastinate this day for a while longer. She quickly scribbled a note just in case Emma did wake up and left it on the kitchen counter; Trust me, it said, just wait for me.

She knew this was her only chance as even possibly keeping Emma Swan in her life. She grabbed her coat as she headed out of the mayor and climbed into her car, giving herself one last pep talk before turning the ignition and reversing out of the driveway. 

Snow was jerked awake by a violent banging on her door, and it didn't take her long to wake up once the memories of the Enchanted Forest flooded through her mind. Charming, she thought, it must be and she jumped out of her bed, not bothering to pull on her dressing gown, in her silk pyjamas and swung the front door open with a giant smile on her face that quickly vanished as her expression darkened.

"Regina," she breathed coldly, her voice matching the anger in her eyes.


End file.
